


Tonsils

by orphan_account



Series: Better [2]
Category: Community
Genre: Anesthetics, Doctors, Feelings, Gen, Sickness, Swearing, Tonsillitis, abed acting silly bc of medications, abed tries to take out his own tonsils, better off dead reference, but is caught by Jeff and Troy, could be read as jeff/abed or troy/abed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-06 21:55:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16841161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Jeff and Troy find Abed trying to take out his own tonsils. Based on that therapy session where Jeff referenced this happening.





	Tonsils

When Troy walked into Abed's bedroom, he didn't expect to see him with a scalpel to his throat, calmly prepared to make an incision. It nearly gave him a heart attack, but luckily, Jeff had chosen that day to visit the Barnes-Nadir-Edison residence and came running in after him, hearing Troy's strangled shout of "Abed!"

Upon seeing the scene, Jeff also shouted.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?!"

Abed opened his mouth to respond, but he found that Troy's arms were wrapped around his waist as he tried to forcibly keep Abed from harming himself.

"You have so much to live for!" Troy shouted, and Abed flinched away from the noise so close to his ear.

"I have tonsillitis," he said calmly, as though that explained everything.

Jeff and Troy went quiet, Troy still not letting Abed go.

"So?" Jeff asked, frowning. A beat. "...wait a minute. You're not trying to tell me that you were trying to cut out your own tonsils?"

Abed shrugged. "Yeah."

"Why?!" Jeff shouted. "You're a computer, you should know how stupid this is."

"I could have gotten them out,"

"Or, you could have mutilated yourself," Troy spoke up, tightening his grip around Abed's waist.

Jeff held out his hand expectantly and Abed looked confused for a moment, but then realized what was going on, nodded, and handed Jeff the scalpel.

"Troy, you can let go of me now."

"Hell no. This is your penance for freaking me out like that,"

"Besides, we're not done here," Jeff said. "Why were you trying to remove your own tonsils, Abed?"

Jeff's tone was very fatherly. It reminded Abed of when he had made Jeff play the role of his dad in his documentary, only Jeff was turning out to be a better dad now, somehow.

"Because I have tonsillitis, I already said that," Abed said, getting a bit impatient.

"No- I mean-" Jeff let out a sigh. "Why aren't you seeing a professional for this?"

Abed shrugged. "I don't like doctors. They have too much power over you, especially while you're asleep. I like to be the one to deal with my own problems."

"Are you so terrified of doctors that you'll risk killing yourself over seeing one?" Jeff frowned.

"I guess," Abed said.

"Well-" Jeff began, frustrated. "You could have talked to us about it, and we could have figured something out that could have made you feel better."

"I guess I didn't consider that," Abed said.

"Would you feel better if we went with you?" Troy suggested. Jeff nodded after a moment.

"It's worth a try, I guess." Abed looked away. "I only wish this whole 'don't kill yourself' conversation was more like how it is in _Better off Dead_."

"There's our little movie-referencing Abed," Troy said affectionately, rubbing his best friend's hair. "Now we're going to take you to the hospital, okay, buddy?"

"What- now?" Abed asked, surprised.

"Yep, no time like the present," Jeff urged while Troy dragged Abed out of his room.

~

After an awkward drive, Jeff and Troy stepped out of the car only to see Abed still in the backseat, sitting stiffly.

"Abed, buddy?" Troy said, opening the door. "You ready to come out of there?"

Abed shook his head, looking more nervous than ever.

"Abed..." Troy pleaded. "I know you're scared but you can't put this off any longer."

Abed shook his head again with more vigor.

"To hell with this," Jeff said. "I'll be bad cop. Abed, get out of this car or I'll drag you out."

Abed didn't move, locking eyes with Jeff.

Jeff sighed, grabbing the thin man and roughly pulling him out of the car. He didn't weigh very much, but he put up quite a fight.

Jeff hoisted Abed into his arms and carried him into the hospital.

~

"Oh my God, is everything alright with his legs?!" a nurse questioned as soon as they got through the door.

"No, his legs are fine," Jeff said through gritted teeth. Abed still said nothing, looking at Troy somewhat pleadingly.

"It's for your own good," Troy said. Then he looked at Jeff. "Right?"

"Right," Jeff sighed. "Let's just get this idiot in with a doctor."

~

Abed found himself sitting down in a designated chair where they would do the anesthesia. He gripped the armrests tightly and watched as a doctor walked in, a cheerful man in his late 30s.

"You have company?" the doctor asked.

"We're his ride home," Jeff said dismissively.

"Right, then," the doctor said. "What's your name?" he asked Abed.

Abed shook his head.

"Not up for a chat, huh?" the doctor asked. "Well, that's all fine with me, then." he prepared the needle, and Abed's body was too tense to even move away from it. The doctor rubbed an alcohol wipe on Abed's arm and stuck the needle in underneath it.

The pain hardly bothered him, but rather, the dread of falling asleep and being left in the hands of a stranger was absolutely terrifying.

However, the last thing he saw before he fell asleep was Jeff and Troy sitting across from him.

And somehow, that made it better.

~

Abed awoke blearily to a couple of doctors standing by him and Troy and Jeff still sitting across from his chair.

Troy smiled at Abed, who smiled back and gave a thumbs up.

If he were honest, Abed didn't feel so 'thumbs-up'. He was delirious, and it was clear whatever drugs they had put into him weren't going to wear off for a while.

The doctors carefully guided him to a wheelchair, and he was wheeled out of the room with Jeff and Troy following. Troy looked a bit sick, and even Jeff seemed pale with something resembling worry.

Abed reached out his hand to them, smiling.

"This is like in a romance movie where one of the leads is dying from a terminal illness," he said, his words a bit slurred and giggly.

"You're not dying, Abed," Troy said. "The doctor told me several times to calm down because it was just tonsils."

"We need a final confession scene," Abed said absentmindedly. "I can lay on a hospital bed with a heart monitor slowing down and y... you can hold my hand, and say, you can say 'I love you Abed', and the heart monitor will stop-"

"Alright, alright, calm down, Abed. It's not a movie, and you're not dying. The surgery was a complete success," Jeff said.

"Damnit." Abed slumped against the wheelchair.

~

Jeff and Troy helped Abed into the backseat of the car. When Jeff got in the front, Abed called, "I eat in your car sometimes, Jeff."

"You what?" Jeff shot a glare back at Abed. Troy put a hand on Jeff's shoulder.

"He doesn't know what he's-"

"On Wednesday's, in the front seat," Abed said. "I like to pretend I'm the kind of guy who drives this car." Abed giggled so much he started snorting. "A fucking prick."

"Oh, my God," Jeff said. "I had no idea he could have less of a filter than he already does."

"He's _swearing_ , Jeff," Troy said. "He never swears!"

"Jeff, didn't I tell you what happened on the set of _Cougar Town_?"

"Alright. Yeah. I'm a decent friend. I'm not going to let you humiliate yourself any further with that story, Abed," Jeff said. "Why don't you talk about _Inspector Space Time_?"

~

After a while of Abed rambling about his favorite show and Jeff barely keeping it together, they finally arrived at the apartment.

"Thanks for helping me with this Abed stuff," Troy said. "You make a really good dad."

And, while carrying in Troy's barely conscious roommate into the apartment, Jeff began to realize that he might actually not be like his own dad at all.

~

Abed gradually recovered as the days past. Jeff had conversations with him, honest ones, ones he wouldn't have with anyone else. Conversations about his dad, his insecurities, his feelings for Britta and Annie.

Abed opened up a bit too. He talked about his own dad, and about his various relationships over the years and how little fulfillment he got out of them.

One evening, when Abed was still on some pretty heavy pain medication, he opened up again.

"It was unfair of me to compare you to my dad," he said, almost sadly. "You're not like him. You're better."

Jeff squeezed Abed's hand, but said nothing. Abed knew if Jeff was questioned about holding Abed's hand the next day, he would laugh it off or deny it even happened.

But the fact that it did happen, that Jeff would do something so intimate, so out of character, just for Abed, meant the world to him.


End file.
